War

One thousand four hundred and sixty-third day. In the Smolensk region, seven people died during an attack by Ukrainian Armed Forces drones on a nitrogen fertilizer plant

Since February 24, 2022, Meduza has been broadcasting live about the Russian-Ukrainian war. We publish your letters every day because we are sure that we need to continue talking about the war. Share with us your thoughts about the war. What feelings are you experiencing? How does war affect your life and your attitude towards the world? If you have a story related to the war, tell it . The feedback form is at the end of this article. A review of the previous day can be read here .

Russia

In the Smolensk region, seven people were killed as a result of a strike by Ukrainian drones, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation reported. At least 10 people were injured.

The attack took place at night, its target was the Dorogobuzh nitrogen fertilizer plant, located about five kilometers from the city of the same name. A fire started at the factory.

The governor of the region, Vasily Anokhin, said that the authorities are considering the issue of evacuating residents of the nearest settlement (he did not specify which one; there are several villages within a radius of one or two kilometers from the plant). He said that a decision on this would be made following consultations with Rostechnadzor and Rosprirodnadzor.

In Dorogobuzh, classes in schools were canceled today due to the attack.

The governor emphasized in his message that the plant is civilian, not military. At the same time, among other things, Dorogobuzh produces ammonium nitrate, the components of which can also be used for military needs.

The plant was already attacked by Ukrainian drones in November and December 2025. No deaths were reported at that time.

Ukraine

In the fifth year of the great war, more and more EU states are limiting payments to Ukrainian refugees and tightening integration requirements, writes RBC-Ukraine.

Since the beginning of the war, 4.35 million Ukrainians have benefited from temporary protection allowing them to legally lead a full life in the EU. Currently, the largest number of refugees remain in Germany (1.25 million people), Poland (970 thousand people) and the Czech Republic (393 thousand people).

The number of refugees continues to grow slowly: for example, in December 2025, another 25 thousand Ukrainians registered as refugees in the European Union. In 2025, EU countries issued 683,395 new decisions granting temporary protection, which is 16.3% less than in 2024.

In recent months, a general trend has emerged in the EU countries: a reduction in the size of social benefits for Ukrainians and more stringent conditions for receiving them. Refugees are required to show that they are trying to find work and generally integrate into life in the host country.

“Some countries make conditions harsher for new refugees than for old ones, especially if they have already lived in other countries or left “safer” regions of Ukraine. In part, these people are perceived as economic migrants who are looking for a country with a more comfortable standard of living, and not refugees fleeing war,” Daria Mikhailyshina, a postdoctoral fellow at the Kyiv School of Economics, told RBC-Ukraine.

Thus, Germany, from April 2025, lowered the amount of benefits and tightened the conditions for receiving them for newly arriving refugees - while those who arrived earlier received and continue to receive social support similar to German citizens in need.

Since 2025, Norway has begun to pay benefits only to those Ukrainians who live in state dormitories, and not in private housing. The Czech Republic has begun requiring able-bodied refugees to find work within 150 days - otherwise their benefits will be cut to the subsistence level. Poland now pays child benefits only to those Ukrainians who have a job.

All these changes come against the backdrop of declining public support for refugee programs in Europe, with more people in many countries believing they are too expensive. In Poland, by January 2026, the number of those who approve of accepting refugees was almost equal to the number of those who are against.

At the same time, notes RBC-Ukraine, most Ukrainians have already integrated into the economies of host countries and found work. For example, in Poland, the employment rate of Ukrainian refugees exceeds 75%, and the total contribution of working Ukrainians to the country's GDP is eight times the value of the assistance Poland has provided to refugees and Ukraine itself since the beginning of the war.

In September 2025, the EU Council recommended reconsidering the concept of refugee programs: they should now focus not on temporary assistance as such, but encourage Ukrainians, instead of temporary protection, to obtain permanent legal status in the EU or to return to Ukraine.

As RBC-Ukraine notes, the country most interested in the return of refugees is Ukraine itself: most of them are able-bodied and educated people, and their departure is a big problem for the country’s economy and demography.

War in photographs. Kyiv

War through the eyes of Meduza readers

How we choose letters

Meduza's readers live in different countries and have different attitudes towards the war. We publish your letters to see this event through your eyes. Our editors try to present all points of view, even if they do not coincide with the editorial position. However, in accordance with the Meduza code, we do not publish messages that contain “hate speech,” justify the murder of civilians, or express direct support for an aggressive war.

Veronica . I don’t understand when Russians, including anti-war ones, are accused simply for the fact of being born on the territory of the Russian Federation and called criminals for not overthrowing Putin, or for paying taxes. To me, this is like calling the passengers of a Boeing hijacked by terrorists on September 11 accomplices, because they were flying on the same plane. The chances of overthrowing the regime for unarmed people are approximately the same as for those hostages - in a country where there are several million security forces, where propaganda works, where they can be imprisoned for a comment or for a blank sheet.

At the beginning of the war, I sympathized with and helped Ukrainian refugees. After numerous death wishes for myself, after rejoicing when Russian children died somewhere, my sympathy and sympathy for the Ukrainians diminished. Now I only help those leaving the Russian Federation, because no one will help them. The war has turned from constant horror into the background; it is impossible to think about it all the time. Although every time I see news about the bombing of Ukrainian cities, I only pray that civilians do not die, that children do not die. But many in the Russian Federation no longer watch it - and I understand them.

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